Text Size

Timeline

Bill Maher on the 'gay agenda'

The rush among lawmakers to endorse gay marriage has followed a national trend toward greater tolerance. Recent public surveys show that more than 50 percent of Americans support same-sex marriage.

But a number of states lag behind the national cultural shift, so it’s news when politicians from places like Missouri or Alaska endorse gay marriage. A California Democrat running statewide has little to fear at the ballot box.

Missouri Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill might not have considered endorsing gay marriage before her 2012 reelection bid, but she won another term after her Republican opponent suggested women can choose whether to get pregnant during rape. With plenty of time before 2018, she made the switch.

Nevertheless, McCaskill quietly made her announcement via her Tumblr page on a Sunday night.

“Don’t get me wrong — anyone from a conservative state who endorses marriage equality is courageous,” said Mixner. “But McCaskill is not up for another six years. By then, she’ll be able to be a bridesmaid in a gay union, and no one will care.”

Virginia Sen. Mark Warner heralded his “evolved” support on his Facebook page. West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller, who isn’t running for reelection, issued a statement declaring his new stance as the result of a “process.” And Alaska Sen. Mark Begich issued a statement to Buzzfeed.

March 26 saw the first of two days of Supreme Court arguments on gay marriage: challenges to California’s Prop. 8, the ballot initiative that limits marriage to unions between a man and woman, and the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. That day also saw another Facebook post, this time from Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester.